Bit Literacy - Mark Hurst [61]
For any task involving words, a text editor is usually the best choice of application, unless there’s a specific need for something else. For example, as discussed earlier, a contacts file is best maintained as an ASCII text file rather than in a proprietary, complex address book program. For text that needs to be e-mailed, it’s usually best to write and send the text in the body of an e-mail, not as an attachment.
For files with complex data (like name, phone, address, e-mail, and other fields) that need to be sorted in various ways, a database program is more appropriate than a text editor. FileMaker is the best choice for both Mac and Windows users. (Avoid using Microsoft Access, which is a poorly designed database program. And as described below, also avoid using Microsoft Excel for databases.)
Tasks involving lots of calculations require a spreadsheet, which is essentially a programmable calculator displayed in grid format. Microsoft Excel is the dominant tool and file format, though Google Spreadsheet is a free alternative (and is compatible with Excel). One common mistake with Excel, however, is to use it as a database. You might as well use Microsoft Word to compose music, or use Outlook to create a slideshow. Excel was built as a spreadsheet, not a database, and so it should be used for calculations, formulas, and the like—but not managing a database.
Another application that bit-literate users must be familiar with is Google. The popular website offers a set of essential applications reaching far beyond its well-known search feature. For example, the Google search bar can act as a calculator (type “135 * 329” and it responds with “44 415”), a currency converter (type “1 usd to euro” to get the current rate), a weather forecaster (type “weather” and a zip code to get the local forecast), a UPS and FedEx package tracker (search on the tracking number), and other functions. There are many other useful, free applications available via the “more” link on the Google home page.
One final note about applications: when using a new application, users should always begin by seeing what they can customize in the application’s appearance and behavior—particularly to turn off distracting or irritating interface features. Windows users should look for Customize and Options screens; Mac users should look for Preferences. (In Microsoft Word, users should also turn off any unnecessary features they see on the AutoCorrect screen.) This customization is available for operating systems, too. Mac users, for example, should use System Preferences, available under the Apple menu, to customize the overall look and feel of the computer. (The choice of which operating system to use—Mac or Windows—is covered in Appendix B.)
Text functions
As described in the chapter on file formats, text files are best created in a text editor—not Microsoft Word—in part because a text editor offers several special text-oriented functions. The bit-literate user should know how to use these functions whenever working in a text editor:
Wrapping and unwrapping:
Line breaks often creep into text in strange places, as when copying text from a
website and then pasting it into an e-mail, text file, or elsewhere. Just as
in this example, in which the paragraph text breaks in different places, it
can be laborious to manually have to go back and delete the line breaks to make the text wrap correctly.
Most text editors have a feature (“Unwrap Lines” or “Remove Line Breaks”) that will instantly clean up that text. Bit-literate users should know that feature and its converse, which “wraps” lines by inserting line breaks after a certain number of characters. For example, if a line of text should be no more than 68 characters (and this is the recommended maximum length of any line in plaintext e-mail), then the “Hard Wrap” feature will take care of it.
– Search and replace: Many users know how to search for given text in a Word file. Users should also